Insulation



June 27; 1939- c. G. MUNTERs INSULATION s Smets-sheet 1y Filed NOV. l, 1935 A HEY.

June 27, 1939.

c. G. MuNTERs `INSULATION Filed Nov. 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f. i-Agolzmaxn June 27, 1939. c. G, Mum-ERS INSULATION 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 Filed Nov. l, 1935 Dm/ O m E TTORNEY.

Patented June-27, 1939 l vPATENT .,'O'FlC-El Y INSUL-AT16N Carl 'Georg Munten, Stockholm, Sweden, aign'or to Aktieholaget Termisk Isolation, Stockholm,

Sweden, a corporation o! Sweden ApplicationA Novcmbcrl, 1935, No. 47,825 y In Sweden November 10, 1934 9 claims; (el. zzo-9) Fig. 7 is a modiiication of the structure shown My invention relates Ato/insulations and theirl manufacture. More' mrticularly my invention relates -to insulation-structures including a space an insulation having a space or spaces from which air has been evacuated, either containing or not containing some other gas, in which the gaseous pressure diierential is equalized by a mechanical pressure component.Y

Another object is to provide equalization'of the mechanical pressure which offsets the gaseous pressure. Y

In forming an evacuated insulation member I preferably utilize a filler, whichv iiller, in the course opreparation of the insulation, is given a mechanical pressure preponderating over atmosphere, so that upon evacuation and the consequent removal of a gaseous pressure component the mechanical pressure component of the ller constitutes an equalizing agent providing stability and rigidity and preventing deformation,`

despite the use oi material which in and of itself is unsuitable.

The nature Aof my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingl drawings forming a part of this specification and of which: Y

Fig. 1'is a sectional view of insulating structure embodying the invention, in which the filling is omitted forthe sake of clarity, and is taken on 40 the line-I--I of Fig. 2;

y Fig. 2 a sectional view taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1, in which the lling for the sake of clarity;

3 is an enlarged view' of a part ot the structure shown` in Fig. 1; I

' Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing insulation in accordance with the invention placed withina xture for making the same. and is on the'line IV--IV of Fig. 5;

ofFig.4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a part of insulation structure in accordance with the invention showing valve structure;

isvomited Fig. 5 isaI sectional view taken on theline V--V in Fig. 6; and

Fig.8 is a sectional view net including insulation in accordance with the invention.

of a refrigerator cabi- The structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2 includes an inner shell or wall 3 and an outer shell or wall l. These shells are nested but spacedV so that -a space 2 is formed between them. At their open ends the shells or receptacles are connected by a strip 5. Preferably the inner and outer shells 3' and l and the strip 5 are -made 'of thin exible sheet metal. In this particular embodiment the structure selected for purpose oi.v illustration is that of insulation for a cabinet having one side open to be closed by a door. The purpose oi. the insulation is to prevent ow of heat between the space exterior to the structure as a whole and the space within the inner shell 3. The shells 3 and 4 are made up of plates which may bel said to extend transversely to the direction of heat iiow whereas the strip 5 extends in the direction of heat flow. In other words, it constitutes a possible heat conducting element between ,the inner and outer shells. The strip 5 should there- Afore be made to have as little heat transmitting capacity as possible so as to break the iiowv of heat. Preferably I use a. metal of poor .heat

conducting quality, such as a nickel-iron alloy. When completed the structure is hermetically sealed and the joints may be welded or other- Y wise hermetically sealed.

The space 2 is lled with a nely divided material of the nature of carbon orkieselguhr. In order to ll this space the structure is made up in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the exception of the wall la which is left oil? untill the material is iilled in. A metal band lb may be' .provided as aA connecting element between the wall la and the remainder of the shell l. After illling'the mass into the space 2 the structure is closed and hermetically sealed, after which a I vacuum is produced in the space 2.

' Inasmuch `as the nature and characteristics of my insulation will be best understood by considering the process of manufacture, I will now explain how the insulation receptacle is illled. The' "iixture shown in Fig; 4 includes a 'bed plate 6 on which is xedly mounted a dome-like member A1 which may, for example, be made of wood.

The outer dimensions of the dome l correspond to the inner-outlined the insulating receptacle in its ultimate orm. In the particular structure shown in Fig. 1, the breaker strip 5 is oblique to the shells 3 and l and somewhat curved. In order to support this part of the structure I provide ledges or extensions 2 at the lower part of the dome 'I having contours to tthe breaker strip 5. Spaced outwardly from the rectangular dome 1 are exterior supporting walls l. These plates 9 are detachably held to the base t by means of any suitable devices III which are oi' such construction as to permit movement and adjustment of the xture as hereinafter described. The four exterior forming walls l are surrounded by a double frame I I which may be suitably supported in any desired manner and which is a unitary structure whereby by means of turnbuckles I2 and bars I3 pressure may be exerted to move the walls l inwardly. 'I'he fixture also includes a detachable cover Il. i

The structure Acomprising the inner and outer shells 3 and 4, with the exception of what might be termed the tcp plate la but including the breaker strip 5 (in other words, ready to be closed and hermetically sealed upon assembly with the cover la and the sealing strip 4b) is placed over the dome I and between the dome 'I and the exterior xture walls 9. A pipe system i5 (Fig. 1) is placed within the space 2 in order to evacuate the space 2. This consists of perforated tubing extending within the diiIerent parts or branches of the space 2 so as to equalize the suction effect. The space 2 is now filled with the comminuted illler. In accordance with the preferred procedure, so much of this interior mass' is filled in that when the cover I4 is put on and the walls l are in a position corresponding to the ultimate contour of the insulation. there is an internal pressure or outward force against the walls of the. receptacle during filling corresponding to the| pressure which the mass has to withstand after evacuation. As the mass is filled into the vertical branches of the insulation it can be packed in while the walls 1 and 9 are in their proper places so'as to give an outward pressure. It is to be borne in mind'that one object ofthe inventionis to utilize sheet metal which isextremely thin, andit will be seen that in accordance with the invention the packing of the material is made possible by means of the nxture holding -the insulation receptacle in proper form. 'I'his permits any thinness of metallic wall. If the ultimate pressure within the space 2 is to be, for exampleJ" of vacuum, or substantially complete vacuum, the pressure differential on the insulation is thus approximately 1 atmosphere. Consequently the filler'may be packed into the space 2 with a pressure approximately equal to 1 atmosphere. 'I'hen when the insulation is eventually evacuated, the Ifiller will equalize the preponderance of exterior gas pressure over the interior gas prsure. As the material is fined in and packed in the insulation cover air will be expelled as the particlee o! the filler are squeezed closer together. The packing of the material into the insulation maybe effected by shaking the insulation as a whole.. Thebaseiinsteadofbeingstationarmmaybe mounted upon a Jiggling machine. After the verticalbranches or sides ot theinr.-

4 sulation space I. have beennlled with the powdei-ed or granular materiel to a suitable degree.

'thebottom tis'attached. Thecovet'll intimenv applied and placed in its wwerplace. whereupon the'filler mass inthe-nuisent space at constitutes the final closure except for the sealing valve of the evacuation system.

Upon evacuation, which now takes place, the insulating structure is preferably maintained in the forming fixture. A vacuum pump is connected to the pipe system I5 by means of a valve I6 and the air is evacuated from the insulation. As the air is evacuated the internal pressure is relieved and the filling mass enters into action to provide aninternal mechanical force or pressure as distinguished from a gaseous force or pressure to equalize the preponderance of external gaseous lforce upon evacuation. The thin metal covering presses against and adjusts itself to the filling material so that it is practicallyv free of any pressure vor force. Although the metallic shell of the insulation is itself yieldable, andalthough the interior mass is of itself of no use in forming alrm structure, the two when used together and made up as herein described form a rigid construction. Insulation made in accordance with the invention is able to withstand bending strainsv to a great degree. It has been found that even some deformation has no disadvantageous eifect on the tightness of the insulation. I preferably use a. curved breaker strip 5 in case there shouldbe any relative movement of the lshells 3 and l, so as to avoid stresses in strip 5 and the joints between4 strip 5 and the `walls 3 and 4. Also the longer the path of travel of heat through the strip 5 the better. In -accordance with the'invention the breaker strip 5 can be extremely thin. It can be of a thickness of only a few millimeters, or even of only a few tenths of a millimeter, in spite of the fact that there is a gaseous pressure differential on it equal to atmospheric pressure. v For this reason there is little heat transmission through the strip 5. The other walls of the insulation can advantageously be made of a. thickness of from 0.2 to 0.7 mm.

The space 2 is preferably evacuated to a pressure which is above absolute vacuum and preferably of an order of magnitude of 0.1 to 10 mm. Hg'. At such pressures there is a great decrease vin heat transmission through the insulation compared to insulations of usual construction. When the desired pressure has been obtained within the insulation space' 2 the valve I6 is closed. As shownin Fig. 6, the l'valve stem Il may bescrewed in to close the valve and a protection cap I8 may be applied exteriorly thereof. Thev complete insulation receptacle is taken out of the form after the cover plate I4 has been removed and the side plates retracted.

By using spring resistance .devices or the like in connection with the turnbuckles I2 the forming'apparatus itself may constitute an indicator of the internal pressure produced in the form. If such an expedient is used limiting devices should be applied so that the insulation will not be deformed. In order to make the insulation Joints accessible for test the apparatus shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may be provided with recesses or the like near these joints. The branches of the Pipe system I5 may be made to extend to any desired places within the space 2. In order notte clog any of the holes I9 in the pipe I5 the pipe may have string or wire or the like wound around the same and cloth or other mesh wound over the string. 'I'hen additional string vor the .like maybe wound around the mesh(l The pipe Il must be of such construction as to withstand atmospheric pressure. For this rea-77| wel :son they are advantageously made of circular cross section.

In Fig; 7 is shown a modified form of valve for the evacuation system. Within the valve body 25 is a coil of soldering wire 20. 'I'hls wire is around pipe connection 21 which communicates with the pipe system l5. Soldering paste is inserted along with the soldering When .the evacuation is completed and before'shutting oi! the .pump the valve body is heated while in inverted position, so that the soldering wire melts and fills the dish-shaped cup 25. thereby covering the mouth of the pipe 21. This hermeticaliy seals 'the space 2 after the vacuum pump is disconnected from the pipe 2l. v In Fig. 8 is shown a refrigerator cabinet provided with insulation in accordance with the present invention.- The cabinet includes an outer shell 3l and. aiiner 3l. .The vacuum insulation isplaced between these parts. In the construction shown in Fig. 8, instead of beading and soldering the joints they are hermeticaliy sealed by means of roll welding. /The liner and the outer wall protect the thin metal of the vacuum insulation from injury. l As is usual in refrigerator.

cabinet construction, a Bakelite or other breaker strip 33 connects the inner and outer shells and a wood frame 34 may be provided at the forward corners. The vacuum insulation is preferably mounted as a unit'irom the rear, the back vplate of the outer shell being removable.- Inthe cabinet shown in Fig. 8 a slab of vacuum insulation 35 is provided inthe door, which slab is made in accordance with the present invention. 'I'his slab is enclosed between the plates 36 and l1 and kept in place by a'wooden framework 38. Thetransverse walls 39 extending in the direction of heat flow are made of a metal of -poor heat conduc-4 tivity supported by'the filling material in the manner above described. A breaker strip il is provided between the' front and rear panels of the door to hinder heat transmission. The outer (warm) wall of the insulation is preferably .pressed against packing means 4I, for instance -of rubber, disposed in the frame 3| on the front side of the cabinet in order to prevent warm atmospheric air from entering the space between the insulation andthe inner liner 3|. For the same purpose the strip may be tightly secured i to the liner 3l andtheframe Il.

lIt will be.-understoodv fromthe foregoing that the mass filling the space 2 must be of such character thatin spite of being compressed ithas communicating .cells or pores. At the same time it must -be of such quality that it does not emit gases "after evacuation. As above indicated,

Vkieselguhr'is a Asuitable substance, and other substances may be soot and .finely powdered metallic oxides. While fibrous materials could be used in certain cases, I, prefer to use ma.-V terialsiof the character .of kieselguhr or carbon powder. 'Y The insulation eect is better, the lower the pressure which is obtained in the space 2, and for this reason the evacuation may be carried out within a large oven at a temperature which is as high as possible such as 20G-400 C. without destroying the filling material. In this way volatile products as, for example, water, may be expelled, and a further decrease in pressure is obtained after evacuationdue to lowering of temperature. The moisture present in the lling mass may also be removed by heating the mass before filling it into theinsulation'. The metallic .casing of the insulation may alsobe .treated before the' mass is iilledintothesam'e fortliizllillllil'li!ofexpelling gases which are dissolved in the metal. Instead of air as a'residual gasinthe space 2 the residual gas may be one o! lower heat conductivity than air, for instance, a gas of 'very high molecular weight. This may be a gas. which is liquid at ordinary pressures and temperatures. -In such case the insulation is preferably evacuated before the gas is introduced, so far as this is possible. A number of evacuations 'or alternate fillings with special 'gas and evacuations may take place. Should the metal casing have -minutecracks or holes in the welds or otherwise,l it may be' treated or 4painted with any suitable solution. such as I varnish, lacquer, before the evacuation so that the solution is sucked into such holes and seals the same.

From the foregoing it will be understood that ine invention is not limited `to a particular.-

paratus nor to a particular set of steps.

What I claim is:

r i. Method of making a'heat insulating structure which includes forming'a container of thin,

flexible material, filling the container with a finely l divided solid material, holding the container to g5 its ultimate' shape while pressing in the filler into 'the container so that the filler exerts a mechanical pressure against the container, closing the container, and removing gas from within the container, whereby preponderance of external 'gaseous pressure is onset by the pressure exerted atmosphere within the container, whereby preponderance of external gaseous pressure is resisted by internal mechanical pressure.

3. Method of making a heat insulating structure which includes forming a container of thin; flexible material, :lling the container with a an insulation which infinely divided solid material, holding the con# tainer to its ultimate shape while pressing in the filler so that the outwardlyacting pressure of said ller on the container walls is above ap;

proximately one atmosphere, closing the container, and evacuating the containerv so that atmospherlc pressure exteriorly thereof is balanced by the material within the container.

4. Insulation including a container made of flexible sheet material and hermeticaliy sealed and containing a filler capable of taking the form of the container, said filler being so packed into the container that if the gaseous pressure within the container were one'atmosphere the total outwardly acting pressure on the container walls would be approximately two atmospheres, the' container being evacuated so that the actual pressure is approximately one atmosphere.

5. Insulation including a casing made of ilexf ible sheet material and containing `a nely divided ller adapted to sustain said casing against external atmospheric pressure, said casing having an opening for evacuating the same, and piping connected to said opening and perforated 'to communicate with different places of saidv iiller, and mesh placed around the piping to prevent entry of material thereinto. Y .6. Method of 4making an insulation which includ forming a container of thin flexible metal' 1s v pme, mung the centaine:I with a nnely divided solid material. holding the container to its ultimate shape while introducing the filler in such manner that the illler tends to bulge the container walls outwardly, closing the container to atmosphere, and producing a lesser pressure than atmosphere within the container.

'1. Method of making an insulation which includes forming a 'container oi' thin flexible metallic material, introducing into the container a iiller material, said ller mate/rial having such properties that particles thereof move one upon the other and adapt themselves to the shape of the container. holding the container to its ultimate shape while introducing the filler material' v alegue ble sheet material, of a nely divided filler having sumcient mass to resist ilow of air when in place and adapted to sustain said casing against external l` atmospheric pressure, and channel means extending within the filler to points re V mote from the said opening, said channel means being unobstructed by the finely divided 1111er to facilitate the levacuation of the -9. Insulation including a casing formed by flexible metallic sheeting and containing a nller having suilicient mass to resist ilow of air when in place and adapted to sustain said casing against external atmospheric pressure, said casing having an opening adapted to be sealed after said casing is evacuated at the opening, chan- .nels extending within the filler to points remote from the said opening ailording communication between different regions of said filler vand the said opening at a plurality of distances from the latter, such communication being unobstructedl 20 by said filler to facilitate the evacuation.

CARL GEORG MUNTERB. 

